Regattas & Head Races

UKCRC have finally returned to BUCS after a very turbulent few years. Entering 7 crews all ready to take on the challenge. 

On the Friday we had our very own Novice Capitan Harriet Clarke who raced in the women's beginner sculls. After a grueling 1500m time trial she made it into the D finals in which she managed to win with ease coming 18th overall 

Onto the second day in which spirits were very high after our novice capitan secured our first win of the weekend! First we had Charlie Forster competing in O Int 1x, our O Beg 4x with Sally Reilly, Thomas Robinson, Bradley Frankland, Sebastian Darlington and Sidney Beacher. Finally we had our O Int Lwt2- consisting of Theo Ashely-Hacker and Matt Willis. Our second day turned out pretty successful as our O Int Lwt2- made it to the B final placing 11th overall. Our O Int 1x, placed 46 out of 77 and our O Beg 4x placed 41st out of 46. 

The third day we had two crews out, our W Beg 4+ consisting of Keshya Varia, Sally Reilly, Maddie Sellis, Libby Dean and Gabrielle Ward and our O Int 4+ with Keshya Varia, Theo Ashely-Hacker, Sidney Beacher, Charlie Forster and Matt Willis. Both Crews placed well despite blustery conditions with our W Beg 4+ placing 4th in the F final and our O Int 4+ placing 6th in G finals.

On the final day we had our last crew racing in the W Beg 2x. Maddie Sellis and Harriet Clarke took on a spirt crushing time trial only to end up in E final where they won and finished 16th overall. Leading to a very successful end to UKCs' 2025 BUCS Regatta. 

We are very proud of a the crews, commitee and everyone else that made this years BUCS happen for us as we could not have done it without you! 

Following a very eventful preamble which included wrens nesting in our racing boats, multiple towers dropping out, and a miscommunication resulting in Matt being left in Canterbury we all eventually made it to Bedford!

With the assistance of Star RC, Bedford RC and some very patient race control we fielded 7(!!) crews.

Op4+ (A), Op4+ (B), W2x, Op1x, W1x, Op2x (A), Op2x

The Op4+(B) made up of Tom, Brad, Seb, Sid and Keshya (cox), was looking forward to their first race together and were looking confident down the river (4th in their category)

The women's double also raced together for the first time! Maddie and Harriet came 8th out of a competitive 12 crews.

The singles looked strong with Charlie finishing 2nd to Molesey BC, and Harriet coming 6th out of 11. Cheers to Bedford RC for letting us use their single!

The stroke of our Op2x-B (who shall not be named) pulled out last second, due to another gentleman (who also shall not be named) not listening to him saying he's never sculled before and entering him anyway.

Luckily Maddie came in clutch and filled the spot, finishing 6th out of 7.

Our Op2x-A was looking good in the beginning, unfortunately a seat malfunction right outside Bedford RC brought the crew to a halt for a solid minute.

Despite this they managed to solve the issue on the water and rowed on, even passing the crew ahead! This resulted in a 5th place finish.

Now for our strongest race of the day, the Op4+ (A).

They absolutely crushed it down the track with a borrowed boat from Star RC. Theo was looking right at home despite having not swept in months, very quickly shaking off the rust and stroking our crew to 1st place, winning by a margin larger than the difference between second and last!!

Overall, it was a great race, thoroughly enjoyed by all competing. Thanks to everyone who came to watch and support, really makes all the difference!! Another huge thank you to Star RC and Bedford RC for the boats, and to race control for not strangling us during our many, many alterations! 

A brilliant effort from all of our crews however we might stick to what we know! The day started off very sunny with our 5 athletes ready to face the sea. 

Started off strong with our Social Sec Brad Frankland who was already feeling the heat and decided to take a dip in the sea! 

Next we had our new VP Sid Beacher who is a seasoned coastal rower finishing the course in 4.5 minutes. Following that we had our very our Seb James who finished after Sid! 

Onto the women! Up first we had Gabby Ward also a seasoned coastal rower finishing in under 5 minutes. Finally we had our new President Maddie Sellis with her first ever experience rowing on the sea. 

Overall was a great experience and our rowers had loads of fun! 

On Saturday crews made up of Thomas Robinson, Matt Willis, Seb Darlington, Sid Beacher , Kieran Waterhouse(Op 4+), Gabby Ward and Sally Reilly (W 2x), Charlie Forster and Theo Ashely-Hacker (Op 2x), went down to the Thames to compete against some of the top clubs in London.

For our men's four, none had raced on the Thames and three had never raced at all! It was certainly a humbling experience, highlights included Seb clotheslining a duck and ending up on the water for an extra hour due to some poor marshalling. Despite coming last, spirits were high and it was a great first race from all in the crew.

The women's double had a much better row, coming in 2nd in their division, only losing to a Henley crew! Both the girls gave it their all, this boat will definitely be bringing home some hardware this season.

Theo returns! Many have heard some Theo lore, he was the strokeman of last year's champ 4 and is currently on a placement year in London, those staying in the club next year will definitely meet him. He joined Charlie in a composite double, and in their home water they put on a strong performance, coming in 3rd overall.

Despite coming home empty handed, it was a great experience for all involved. This is shaping up to be an exciting season for UKCRC!!